A TURKEY STORY

Some truths are universal, understood from the least to the greatest: “If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and squirts like squeezable mayo, then it ain’t no turkey that you’re dealing with.” This leads to a lesser known equation, “That which is turkey can never equal a duck.” Not that one or two haven’t tried.

And failed miserably.

We once had ducks who thought it no greater pleasure than to leave their quacks behind at the lake to deposit their gifts of fowl fertilizer in our car port. Somewhere along the way a disturbed turkey decided he would take up residence with these demonstrative quackers. Everywhere the ducks went, he was sure to be. Just one of the boys. This was all well and good until that fateful night when Mr. Coyote, the connoisseur of duck delight, decided to drop in for a late snack. One duck, two ducks, three ducks in the water, and one drowned turkey made for a hungry coyute— quite disgusted and vowing to take his tail elsewhere.

I wonder as the turkey wandered off into the depths of the lake did he finally realize, “These web design shoes that I have on does not seem to be working like the ad.... ”

It is one thing for a turkey to try and imitate a duck, do so and he may end up in a watery grave. It is an altogether different thing for man to try and duplicate that which is good. Ultimately this is impossible and to cling to any hope of doing so could lead you to a fiery lake of unending despair: You could sooner make a straw man in the middle of the sun.

We must understand that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. Nowhere in the New Testament will you find the scriptures imploring man to follow Jesus as our example. That is more in line with the Old Testament which teaches: "Here is what you must do to be righteous. Live in the exact manner that God Himself would were He in your shoes, and all in your own strength!"

"Yeah right. Only Jesus can do that."

Exactly.

What you will find in the New Testament is the light of God revealing Jesus as our life: “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:3-4).

Big difference.

With the one, you’re just another turkey trying to be a duck; with the other, there is a fountain of life ceaselessly flowing in the righteousness, peace, love, faith, and joy that is Christ’s and his alone—that which he promised to be in us, to us, through us.

Will we ever realize that to be a Christian is to enter into the realm where he becomes everything, in reality, which is way past theory? When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost he was not trying to imitate Jesus; Jesus was emanating from him.

Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Ask the Holy Ghost to reveal Jesus as your very life—that is what it means to follow him.

FROM THE END OF THE EARTH

I’ll never forget the disappointment etched in the face of coach DuBose after Tennessee had beaten Alabama.

Again.

At the news conference, he followed the normal script, “We turned the ball over, left points on the field, had way too many penalties.” What the cameras never caught was what was really being said in his heart, “Lord I prayed, I took you at your word—what went wrong?”

Mike DuBose had become a man of faith.

What he was learning was God works all things together for our good, but doesn’t overly concern himself with the temporal. He majors in the eternal. So what do you think about God’s delays? A ballgame is one thing, but what about healing for the body or food on the table or sanity of mind?

Psalms 61:2 provides an answer, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” We do not become “overwhelmed” when everything is going our way; we tend to nut up when seemingly everything goes away. When you have come to the end of your world, of what to do and how to do it, God is always there waiting to lead you to the Rock Jesus, whose ways are always higher than yours. He is in control, has been and always will be, and if the scoreboard reads 36-0, he has something higher to teach you.

God knows that since man fell hard in the garden, that he has been obsessed with the terminal and oblivious to the transcendent. The moment Adam realized he was naked, this world became imaginary experts on what was needed most and have steadily degenerated ever since. After all, image is everything—if your not wearing “Fig of the Loon” underwear then you ain’t nothing.

Have you become disappointed in your “fig leaf” apron? God has something far greater in mind. He is building trust, and eternity will reveal that he did everything well in your life. Every move was calculated, every cry heard and attended, every hair counted and accounted for. He is your Heavenly Father and knows and meets your every need: “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalms 62:8).

God will move in your situation, in His time. For the immediate, he is imparting to you a heart that trusts him.

When it's 36-0.

This is God's super natural work!

SAVE THE GOOSE

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

When Adam partook of the forbidden fruit he immediately contacted a horrendous case of food poisoning. This death has been passed on from generation to generation causing untold misery for the human race. All the murders, rapes, robberies, and fornication’s that will make today’s headlines have their root in the fruit that Adam ate.

One of the prevailing symptoms of this disease is the maddening and mystifying pursuit of that which is temporal, all the while forsaking that which is eternal. The moment Adam bit into the “apple” it became “sand in his hand.” He chose that which he could never hang onto in contempt of that which he could never lose. For all we know, he made an apple pie to go with the fried goose he was having for supper.

There would be no more golden eggs.

The development of this sin is that everything you see today is from the ground and is sure to return there someday: “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Its not that these things are necessarily sin, but our attitude towards them is the culprit.

Are the things that make up most of our thinking really going to matter in a million years?

Save the goose!

Baal Worship

The following is by Dennis Bratcher and is dealing with Baal worship:

“Yahweh has been experienced as a God of power, the God who fought Pharaoh, who parted the Reed Sea, who led the Israelites through the desert, who parted the Jordan, who brought them into the land by toppling the walls of Jericho and routing the Canaanite and Philistine armies. This led to the idea that Yahweh, the God of the patriarchs, was a powerful warrior God, the God of the desert who could be counted on to march in with his heavenly armies in times of crisis. However, as the Israelites settled into the land, they encountered the fertility cult of Ba‘al. They were easily convinced that while Yahweh may be God of the desert and God of battles and God of power, it was Ba‘al who was in charge of the more mundane aspects of everyday life, such as rain and crops and livestock.

The Israelites never abandoned the worship of Yahweh. They simply added the worship of Ba‘al to their worship of Yahweh (called syncretism). They had one God for crises and another god for everyday life. The actual worship of Ba‘al was carried out in terms of imitative magic whereby sexual acts by both male and female temple prostitutes were understood to arouse Ba‘al who then brought rain to make Mother Earth fertile (in some forms of the myth, represented by a female consort, Asherah or Astarte)”

I wonder if living our every day life as if there was no God, as it relates to his actual influence within our circumstances, is nothing less than worshiping Baal?

THE WORD AND THE TESTIMONY by A.W. TOZER

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies" (2 Peter 2:1).

Whatever it may be in our Christian experience that originates outside of Scriptures should, for that very reason, be suspect until it can be shown to be in accord with them.

If it should be found to be contrary to the Word of revealed truth no true Christian will accept it as being from God. However high the emotional content, no experience can be proved to be genuine unless we can find chapter and verse authority for it in Scriptures. “To the word and to the testimony” must always be the last and final proof.

Whatever is new or singular should also be viewed with caution until it can furnish scriptural proof of its validity. Thoughout the twentieth century quite a number of unscriptural notions have gained acceptance among Christians by claiming that they were among truths that were to be revealed in the last days.

The truth is that the Bible does not teach that there will be new light and advanced spiritual experiences in the latter days; it teaches the exact opposite! Nothing in Daniel or the New Testament epistles can be tortured into advocating the idea that we of the end of the Christian era shall enjoy light that was not known at its beginning.

Beware of any man who claims to be wiser than the apostles or holier than the martyrs of the Early Church. The best way to deal with him is to rise and leave his presence!”

THE MARKS OF CHRIST

The following is from A. B. Simpson’s “The Cross of Christ.”

“Good Richard Cecil once asked his little daughter, as she sat upon his knee, with a cluster of pretty glass beads around her neck, if she truly loved him, and if she loved him enough to take those beads and fling them into the fire. She looked in his face with wonder and grief; she could hardly believe he meant such sacrifice. But his steady gaze convinced her that He was in earnest, and with trembling, reluctant steps she tottered to the grate, and clinging to them with reluctant fingers, at last she dropped them into the fire, and then flinging herself into his arms, she sobbed herself to stillness in the bewilderment and perplexity of her renunciation. He let her learn her lesson fully, but a few days later, on her birthday, she found upon her dressing case a little package, and on opening it she found inside a cluster of real pearls strung upon a necklace and bearing her name with her father’s love. She had scarcely time to grasp the beautiful present as she flew to his presence and throwing herself into his arms, she said, “Oh Papa, I am so sorry that I did not understand.

Some day, beloved, in his arms, you will understand. He does not always explain it now. He lets the cross have all its sharpness. He lets the weary years go by; but oh, someday we will understand and be so glad that we were permitted to bear with him and for him the “brand marks of The Lord Jesus.”

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen” (Galatians 6:14-18).

HIMSELF by A.B. SIMPSON pt. 3

The word "mystery" means secret; this is the great secret. And I tell you today, nay, I can give you, if you will take it from Him, not from me-I can give you a secret which has been to me, oh, so wonderful! Years ago I came to Him burdened with guilt and fear; I tried that simple secret, and it took away all my fear and sin. Years passed on, and I found sin overcoming me and my temptations too strong for me. I came to Him a second time, and He whispered to me, "Christ in you," and I had victory, rest and blessing.

Then the body broke away in every sort of way. I had always worked hard, and from the age of fourteen I studied and labored and spared no strength. I took charge of a large congregation at the age of twenty-one; I broke down utterly half a dozen times and at my last constitution was worn out. Many times I feared I should drop dead in my pulpit. I could not ascend any height without a sense of suffocation, because of a broken-down heart and exhausted nervous system. I heard of the Lord's healing, but I struggled against it. I was afraid of it. I had been taught in theological seminaries that the age of the supernatural was past, and I could not go back from my early training. My head was in my way, but at last when I was brought to attend "the funeral of my dogmatics," as Mr. Schrenck says, "the Lord whispered to me the little secret, 'Christ in you'; and from that hour I received Him for my body as I had done for my soul. I was made so strong and well that work has been a perfect delight. For years I have spent my summer holiday in the hot city of New York, preaching and working amongst the masses, as I never did before; besides the work of our Home and College and an immense mass of library work and much besides. But the Lord did not merely remove my sufferings. It was more than simple healing. He so gave me Himself that I lost the painful consciousness of physical organs. That is the best of the health He gives. I thank the Lord that He keeps me from all morbid, physical consciousness and a body that is the object of anxious care, and gives a simple life that is a delight and a service for the Master, that is a rest and joy.

Then, again, I had a poor sort of a mind, heavy and cumbrous, that did not think or work quickly. I wanted to write and speak for Christ and to have a ready memory, so as to have the little knowledge I had gained always under command. I went to Christ about it, and asked if He had anything for me in this way. He replied, "Yes, my child, I am made unto you Wisdom." I was always making mistakes, which I regretted, and then thinking I would not make them again; but when He said that He would be my wisdom, that we may have the mind of Christ, that He could cast down imaginations and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, that He could make the brain and head right, then I took Him for all that. And since then I have been kept free from this mental disability, and work has been rest. I used to write two sermons a week, and it took me three days to complete one. But now, in connection with my literary work, I have numberless pages of matter to write constantly besides the conduct of very many meetings a week, and all is delightfully easy to me. The Lord has helped me mentally, and I know He is the Saviour of our mind as well as our spirit.

Well, then, I had an irresolute will. I asked, ' Cannot you be a will to me?" He said, "Yes, my child, it is God who worketh in you to will and to do." Then He made me to learn how and when to be firm, and how and when to yield. Many people have a decided will, but they do not know how to hold on just at the proper moment. So, too, I came to Him for power for His work and all the resources for His service, and He has not failed me.

And so I would say, if this precious little secret of "Christ in you," will help you, you may have it. May you make better use of it than I! I feel I have only begun to learn how well it works. Take it and go on working it out, through time and eternity-Christ for all, grace for grace, from strength to strength, from glory to glory, from this time forth and even for evermore.

HIMSELF by A. B. Simpson

Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone.
Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost.
Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast;
Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast.
Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer;
Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care.
Once 'twas what I wanted, Now what Jesus says;
Once 'twas constant asking, Now 'tis ceaseless praise.
Once it was my working, His it hence shall be;
Once I tried to use Him, Now He uses me.
Once the power I wanted, Now the Mighty One;
Once for self I labored, Now for Him alone.
Once I hoped in Jesus, Now I know He's mine;
Once my lamps were dying, Now they brightly shine.
Once for death I waited, Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored, Safe within the vail.

HIMSELF by A.B. SIMPSON pt. 2

And now, thank God, I have Him, not only what I have room for, but that which I have not room for, but for which I shall have room, moment by moment, as I go on into the eternity before me. I am like the little bottle in the sea, as full as it will hold. The bottle is in the sea, and the sea is in the bottle; so I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. But, besides that bottleful in the sea, there is a whole ocean beyond; the difference is, that the bottle has to be filled over again, every day, evermore.

Now the question for each of us is not "What think you of Bethshan, and what think you of divine healing?" but "What think you of Christ?" There came a time when there was a little thing between me and Christ. I express it by a little conversation with a friend who said, "You were healed by faith." "Oh, no," I said, "I was healed by Christ." What is the difference? There is a great difference. There came a time when even faith seemed to come between me and Jesus. I thought I should have to work up the faith, so I labored to get the faith. At last I thought I had it; that if I put my whole weight upon it, it would hold. I said, when I thought I had got the faith, "Heal me." I was trusting in myself, in my own heart, in my own faith. I was asking the Lord to do something for me because of something in me, not because of something in Him. So the Lord allowed the devil to try my faith, and the devil devoured it like a roaring lion, and I found myself so broken down that I did not think I had any faith. God allowed it to be taken away until I felt I had none. And then God seemed to speak to me so sweetly, saying, "Never mind, my child, you have nothing. But I am perfect Power, I am perfect Love, I am Faith, I am your Life, I am the preparation for the blessing, and then I am the Blessing, too. I am all within and all without, and all for ever." It is just having "Faith in God" (Mark 11: 22). "And the life I now live in the flesh, I live," not by faith on the Son of God, but "by the faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2 20). That is it. It is not your faith. You have no faith in you, any more than you have life or anything else in you. You have nothing but emptiness and vacuity, and you must be just openness and readiness to take Him to do all. You have to take His faith as well as His life and healing, and have simply to say, "I live by the faith of the Son of God." My faith is not worth anything. If I had to pray for anyone, I would not depend upon my faith at all. I would say, "Here, Lord, am I. If you want me to be the channel of blessing to this one just breathe into me all that I need." It is simply Christ, Christ alone.

Now, is your body yielded to Christ for Him thus to dwell and work in you? The Lord Jesus Christ has a body as well as you only it is perfect; it is the body, not of a man, but of the Son of man. Have you considered why He is called the Son of man? The Son of man means that Jesus Christ is the one typical, comprehensive, universal, all-inclusive Man. Jesus is the one man that contains in Himself all that man ought to be all that man needs to have. It is all in Christ. All the fullness of the Godhead and the fullness of a perfect manhood has been embodied in Christ, and He stands now as the summing-up of all that man needs. His spirit is all that your spirit needs, and He just gives us Himself. His body possesses all that your body needs. He has a heart beating with the strength that your heart needs. He has organs and functions redundant with life, not for Himself, but for humanity. He does not need strength for Himself. The energy which enabled Him to rise and ascend from the tomb, above all the forces of nature, was not for Himself. That marvellous body belongs to your body. You are a member of His body. Your heart has a right to draw from His heart all that it needs. Your physical life has a right to draw from His physical life its support and strength, and so it is not you, but it is just the precious life of the Son of God. Will you take Him thus today, and then you will not be merely healed, but you will have a new life for all you need, a flood of life that will sweep disease away, and then remain a fountain of life for all your future need. Oh, take Him in His fullness.

It seems to me as if I might just bring you a little talisman today, as if God had given me a little secret for every one here and said to me, "Go and tell them, if they will take it, it will be a talisman of power wherever they go, and it will carry them through difficulty, danger, fear, life, death, eternity." If I could stand on this platform and say, "I have received from heaven a secret of wealth and success which God will give freely, through my hand, to everybody who will take it," I am sure you would need a larger hall for the people who would come. But, dear friends, I show you in His Word a truth which is more precious. The Apostle Paul tells us that there is a secret, a great secret which was hidden from ages and from generations (Col. 1: 26), which the world was seeking after in vain, which wise men from the East hoped they might find, and God says it "is now made manifest to his saints"; and Paul went through the world just to tell it to those that were able to receive it; and that simple secret is just this "Christ in you the hope of glory."

HIMSELF by A.B. SIMPSON pt.1

I wish to speak to you about Jesus, and Jesus only. I often hear people say, "I wish I could get hold of Divine Healing, but I cannot." Sometimes they say, "I have got it." If I ask them, "What have you got?" the answer is sometimes, "I have got the blessing", sometimes it is, "I have got the theory"; sometimes it is, "I have got the healing"; sometimes, "I have got the sanctification." But I thank God we have been taught that it is not the blessing, it is not the healing, it is not the sanctification, it is not the thing, it is not the it that you want, but it is something better. It is "the Christ"; it is Himself.

How often that comes out in His Word - "Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses", Himself "bare our sins in his own body on the tree"! It is the person of Jesus Christ we want. Plenty of people get the idea and do not get anything out of it. They get it into their head, and it into their conscience, and it into their will; but somehow they do not get Him into their life and spirit, because they have only that which is the outward expression and symbol of the spiritual reality.

I once saw a picture of the Constitution of the United States, very skillfully engraved in copper plate, so that when you looked at it closely it was nothing more than a piece of writing, but when you looked at it at a distance, it was the face of George Washington. The face shone out in the shading of the letters at a little distance, and I saw the person, not the words, nor the ideas; and I thought, "'That is the way to look at the Scriptures and understand the thoughts of God, to see in them the face of love, shining through and through; not ideas, nor doctrines, but Jesus Himself as the Life and Source and sustaining Presence of all our life."

I prayed a long time to get sanctified, and sometimes I thought I had it. On one occasion I felt something, and I held on with a desperate grip for fear I should lose it, and kept awake the whole night fearing it would go, and, of course, it went with the next sensation and the next mood. Of course, I lost it because I did not hold on to Him. I had been taking a little water from the reservoir, when I might have all the time received from Him fullness through the open channels.

I went to meetings and heard people speak of joy. I even thought I had the joy, but I did not keep it because I had not Himself as my joy. At last He said to me - Oh so tenderly - "My child, just take Me, and let Me be in you the constant supply of all this, Myself." And when at last I got my eyes off my sanctification, and my experience of it, and just placed them on the Christ in me, I found, instead of an experience, the Christ larger than the moment's need, the Christ that had all that I should ever need who was given to me at once, and for ever! And when I thus saw Him, it was such rest; it was all right, and right for ever. For I had not only what I could hold that little hour, but also in Him, all that I should need the next and the next and so on, until sometimes I get a glimpse of what it will be a million years afterwards, when we shall "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our Father" (Matt. 13: 43), and have "all the fullness of God."

And so I thought the healing would be an it too, that the Lord would take me like the old run-down clock, wind me up, and set me going like a machine. It is not thus at all. I found it was Himself coming in instead and giving me what I needed at the moment. I wanted to have a great stock, so that I could feel rich; a great store laid up for many years, so that I would not be dependent upon Him the next day; but He never gave me such a store. I never had more holiness or healing at one time than I needed for that hour. He said: "My child, you must come to Me for the next breath because I love you so dearly I want you to come all the time. If I gave you a great supply, you would do without Me and would not come to Me so often; now you have to come to Me every second, and lie on My breast every moment." He gave me a great fortune, placed thousands and millions at credit, but He gave a cheque-book with this one condition, "You never can draw more than you need at the time." Every time a cheque was wanted, however, there was the name of Jesus upon it, and so it brought more glory to Him, kept His name before the heavenly world and God was glorified in His Son.

I had to learn to take from Him my spiritual life every second, to breathe Himself in as I breathed, and breathe myself out. So, moment by moment for the spirit, and moment by moment for the body, we must receive. You say, "Is not that a terrible bondage, to be always on the strain ?" What, on the strain with one you love, your dearest Friend ? Oh, no! It comes so naturally, so spontaneously, so like a fountain, without consciousness, without effort, for true life is always easy, and overflowing.

THE OLD CROSS AND THE NEW by A.W. TOZER pt.2

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power. (A. W. Tozer, Man, the Dwelling Place of God, 1966)

THE OLD CROSS AND THE NEW by A.W. TOZER pt.1

ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE

The scriptures clearly foretold before the Lord’s first coming that he would come to His temple and cleanse it:

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. — Malachi 3:1-3

A careful study of the scriptures shows that this was fulfilled by Jesus twice: At the beginning and the end of his three year ministry:

1. “And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise” (John 2:13-16).
2. “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves” (Matthew 21:12). Note that it was the same sin both times.

Just as cleansed the Jewish temple twice he will cleanse the church, which is the temple of his body, twice. The first cleansing took place when Jesus “suddenly” appeared to the seven churches which were in Asia: “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks” (Revelation 2:1— Italics mine). Look at the “cleansing” judgments of the “refiners’ fire:

• Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. —2:5
• Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. —2:16
• Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. —2:22-23
• I know thou works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. —3:1-3
• I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm…I will spue thee out of my mouth. — 3:15-16

How shocking these judgments must have been for all of those who had bought into the teaching that “sin is no longer an issue with God.” There is no way you can reconcile that statement with the Lord who promised to “kill her children with death.” There is not a positive spin you can put on most of the church at Sardis who was declared dead by the Lord who raises the dead: Even the Lord of Life could not find a pulse!

They were spiritually deceased.

Much less can there be anything optimistic about an entire church being vomited out of the Lord’s mouth. How can anyone possibly say that sin does not effect your born again spirit in the light of these scriptures? Was it just their souls and their bodies that the Lord spit out of his mouth? Is Jesus on the outside looking into this church and yet nothing has changed concerning their once saved always saved status? Even if they did not repent? Would repentance be considered a gift of grace to be received or would it be the “legalism of obedience”?

A church under judgment had better repent!

RHETORIC

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent” (1 Corinthians 1:18-19).

We live in a time where countless churches’ have embraced the motto, “The same message just a different method.” At first glance this seems harmless. Who in their right mind would ever challenge the validity of using the latest technology? Not me: I’m on the bandwagon.

I even have a “sitemeter” to show me how many millions are not reading my blog!

Here’s the danger: In our quest to be relevant we have embraced rhetoric—reasoning that reaches probable conclusions based upon premises that are assumed rather than proven. For the most part, coming up with new methods is the empty talk of those who would do away with the cross because it assumes that there is a difference between the message and the method.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The message is Christ crucified and the method is the cross; they are one and the same. Its premise is that at the heart of every man is a “Hitler” that must die. This principle is grounded in the fall of Adam, through which the heart of man became desperately wicked: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19). The Justice of God demands that this man must die; the Mercy of God redeemed man by sending Jesus as a sacrifice for sin and offering the gift of repentance.

However, the wisdom of man finds this all too rigid. Therefore a new “Posture Pedic” cross is in order—one that conforms to individual sins!

This new scheme never confronts the sinner because the community survey shows that people do not want to be told what they are doing is wrong. After all, everyone knows they are sinners: right?

Wrong, you have bought into rhetoric. No way would those converted on the day of Pentecost knew that they had just murdered the Son of God had not Peter challenged them in their sin. They thought they had done God a service: “And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17).

SALMONELLA ASSEMBLY

“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going” (Proverbs 14:15).

In days marked by deception, we would do well to take heed to what we hear. The modern church is increasingly obese from the intake of cotton candy doctrines and a new desert called “Devil’s Fudge.” These modern delights are causing a pandemic of spiritual food poisoning.

One of the common causes for food poisoning is improper preparation. Eat a hamburger with pink in the middle and you will “run the risk” at the toilet! Proper temperature is vital both in cooking and storage: Make sure the fire is hot enough and the fridge sufficiently cold.

“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psalms 12:6

Woe to the pastor at “Salmonella Assembly” who serves undercooked “meat of the word”. This pastor constantly offends God because he dare not offend the chicken: Expose a drumstick to an old fashioned “Fry Daddy” and they are sure to never come back! This is all in keeping with Salmonella’s vision statement: “At all costs keep the back door shut—it may be necessary keep the toilet door open.” Never mind the cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, chills, and lack of appetite: there are funds set aside for the escalating “Pepto Dismal” bill.

The true Word of God is prepared in an oven: “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). This fire consumes that which is of the flesh: “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is” (1 Corinthians 3:13). This fire is not averse to burning up the “wood, hay, and stubble” of mans genius. It offends the temporal in order to reveal the eternal weight of God’s glory.

B.H. Clendennen says tares have to be entertained and saints challenged. Fire does not offend true Christians. It reveals within them the “gold, silver, and precious stones” that is the presence of Christ.

THE TWELFTH APOSTLE

“For in the book of Psalms it is written, Let his place of residence become deserted and gloomy, and let there be no one to live in it; and [again], Let another take his position or overseership” (Acts 1:20).

The above scripture is quoted by Peter after Judas had lost his apostleship through transgression. The Holy Ghost foreseeing this betrayal from the time of David specifically spoke of “another” to take the position of being numbered with the twelve. Peter was correct in his discernment—there was to be another apostle—but I believe he missed it as to the timing, the method, and who was selected.

“And they accordingly proposed (nominated) two men, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, You, Lord, Who know all hearts ( their thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, purposes, and endeavors), indicate to us which one of these two You have chosen to take the place in this ministry and receive the position of an apostle, from which Judas fell away and went astray to go [where he belonged] to his own [proper] place. And they drew lots [between the two], and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to and counted with the eleven apostles (special messengers)” (Acts 1:23-26).

Take a good look at Matthias.

It is the only appearance he makes.

You must understand that this happened within ten days of the Holy Ghost being poured out, signaling the inauguration of both the New Covenant and the Holy Ghost as the conveyor: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:13). The time of “drawing lots” was over; the day of hearing from the Spirit on a continual basis was dawning.

Galatians 1:1 reads, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead…” Known unto God are all his works from the foundation of the world. Paul had already been chosen at the time of Acts 1 according to the eternal choice of God: “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me” (Galatians 1:15-16). There was no way Peter could have known this; there was no way the Holy Ghost didn’t know.

By the grace of God Paul was destined to write two thirds of the New Covenant. These scriptures are part of the very groundwork of the church: “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). Where would we stand if not for the foundation of the gospel of grace that came from Paul’s pen? Therefore I am convinced that his name is of the twelve: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14).

The Holy Ghost is the author and interpreter of the scriptures. He is continually coming from the throne of heaven with explicit directions from the mouth of God. In a time when the scriptures are watered down, twisted beyond recognition, and marketed according to the latest business model, we must look to him as we “rightly divide the word of truth.”

Or else we will anoint the “Apostle Bozo” instead of the “Apostle Boaz.”

HAS YOUR NIGHTCAP BEEN A CUP OF PAIN?

Psalms 44:3 is the boast of a people who understood that the essence of victory centered on the strength of the Lord: “For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favor unto them.” These over comers applied this truth to their own situation:

“Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah” (vs. 5-8).

This is a picture of the true church with the correct confession serving the Lord. What follows next is a familiar testimony that serves to baffle even the choicest of God’s servants:

“But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me” (vs.9-15).

Ultimately this is a portrait of the cross: “Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter” (v. 22). When you follow the Lord and end up in a situation that is humanly impossible, take comfort that your steps have been ordered by the Lord. If you have been exposed as bankrupt to all who would take inventory of you, you are in excellent company. Jesus was naked on the cross before the world with no way of escape.

When all was seemingly lost God was doing his greatest work.

Take heart that when it appears that God is asleep on the job, He is actually taking things into his own hands. The Psalmist did not realize that his accusing God of sleeping was really a prophesy of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord. God was not asleep, He was working. Remember that Jesus referred to death as sleep more than once: “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11). Psalms 13:3 strengthens this: “Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.”

“Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Arise; cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake” (vs. 23-26).

Jesus was “afflicted and oppressed” at the cross because of our sins. As it were, God “hid his face” for a brief moment: “In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment” (Isaiah 54:8). When Jesus died, he rested in the “sleep of death” for two days, but on the third day he answered the Psalmist’s cry: He arose for our help when he was resurrected from the dead ! When all seemed lost God was recovering all that was lost. Sin had “cast us from his side” but through the Blood of the cross Jesus redeemed us back to God.

Does it look like God has forgotten you and is doing nothing on your behalf? Has there been a “shaking of the head” by those who survey your circumstances: “He said God was going to help him. He needs to get in the real world!” Has there been confusion and has your nightcap been a cup of pain?

Lift up your head: God is about to do his greatest work in you!

PIGWEED BREATH

Jesus said that the kingdom of God could be likened to a seed. One of the core truths to be learned from a seed is all seeds have a genealogy. You can trace an apple and a thorn tree back to the original tree from which it came. I wrote the following sometime back to illustrate this point:

"My garden has a propensity to grow a lowlife called Pigweed. It is quiet selfish, plots to overthrow the good seed, and will leave you retreating in pain were you to grab it with your bare hand because of its thistles. It has a very filthy mouth, for at its root is a curse.

What you need to understand is this: the Pigweed that flourishes in my garden did not originate there. Its infamous lineage can be traced back to the Garden of Eden to the original “father” pigweed. It was there that it obtained its legal right to be established as a perennial enemy because of the disobedience of Adam, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake…” (Genesis 3:17).

What is true of Pigweed is true of all other weeds that grow effortlessly in gardens everywhere. Coffee weeds, sandspurs, wild onions and the like have multiplied from generation to generation, claiming the ground as their own. As a succession of rulers, as soon as one dies, the crown is passed to the next in line to enforce the curse and reign in place of blessing.

All this is true because the nature of a seed—both good and evil, is to multiply. In other words, any weed seed that you hold in your hand did not originate in your hand; it was multiplied from the original “father.”

This “weed-ology” parallels a more somber truth: The “seeds” of sin that we sow so effortlessly have an author. Words of hate, anger, and deception can be traced all the way back to the mouth of the Devil when he deceived Eve and tempted Adam to disobey. Because of Adam’s sin, the "ground" of mans heart was cursed, and out of the abundance or the heart, the mouth speaks—with putrid “Pigweed” breath.

Sad to say, we are so accustomed to “weeds” in our garden, we consider it normal to “flood” our homes with a steady stream of tyranny. We are professional employers of the wisdom that says that in order to get our way; we must raise our voice in escalating anger, speak words filled with hate and cursing, and manipulate circumstances. This wisdom is of the devil: “But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilsh” (James 3:14-15).

There is nothing innocent about our ungodly anger and the words we use to express it. Words like, “You make me sick; You are just like your mother; You’ll never change,” spring from a counterfeit wisdom that we use to manipulate for selfish purposes. Follow this "river" upstream and you will find that it proceeds from an angry Devil. He is a liar from the beginning to the end: "And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood..." (Revelation 12:5)."

As my Uncle Ronny has said, "We don't want to be like a hog eating acorns and never look up to see where they are coming from." Pig Weed breath proceeds from a pig.

Get rid of it!

NO ONE CAN TAKE WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED YOU

There was a definite sense of excited bedlam as Jesse hurried his sons in their preparations; after all this wasn’t just any old middling preacher that had called them to the sacrifice.

This was Samuel.

“Good grief,” Eliab muttered. “Where is that little squirt?”
“Daaavid!”
“What now?” David asked.
“I thought I told you to have this shirt pressed: You call this ironing?”
“What am I, a maid? Do it yourself!”
“What part of sanctified do you not get? Why can’t you get it through that red head of yours that Pastor Samuel told us not to do any ordinary work: One of us is going to be anointed today.”
“Please forgive me, be it far from me to cause the future king to become unsanct….”
“Quit sassing your brother young man. Just why are you not tending those sheep like I told you,” asked Jesse as he fretted with Abinadab’s tie.
“But all I was tryin……”
“Don’t but me son; I am trying to teach you responsibility. As the younger brother to the future King of Israel you’re going to have to learn some manners!”
“O my goodness: It’s time to go—David, go saddle the camels!”

And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. —1 Samuel 16:1-5

Samuel had a clear word from the Lord, “I have chosen one of Jesse’s sons to be King: Go and anoint him.” It is clear from the text that Samuel sent word for Jesse to meet him in Bethlehem in order to have his sons sanctified for the sacrifice. To be sanctified meant among other things to withdraw from ordinary secular work. Where was David in all of this?

Keeping ordinary sheep.

David was overlooked and lightly esteemed, yet chosen by God and heavily anointed. Even Samuel missed it to start off with: “Samuel looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him” (16:6). The word looked is the same word provided: “I have provided me a king among his sons.” David had experienced a face to face encounter with the Lord in which he was commanded to be King of Israel before Samuel ever arrived in Bethlehem. “…the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people…” (13:14).

David had been appointed king before he was anointed king by Samuel: “He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds” (Psalms 78:70). By the time of Saul’s second sin God had given the kingdom to David: “And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou” (1 Samuel 15:28).

The truth is, David did not need Samuel to tell him he was going to be King of Israel: He already knew this from the Lord. Samuel confirmed to David that he would be King. A true prophet does not give direction; he confirms direction—especially in the New Testament. If a “prophet” tells you something that the Lord has not already told you, that prophet is operating in witchcraft.

What great grace has the Lord revealed to you concerning his call on your life? If he has spoken it, he will surly bring it to pass. You may be discounted by all those who know you, but no one can take what God has promised you!

SAINTS WIN! SAINTS WIN!

The 2009 edition of the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn was decided in the last minutes of the game. It was so stressful that Lori couldn’t bear to watch, instead choosing to fret outside.

Auburn had one last chance to win by throwing a “Hail Mary” into the end zone, and for this particular play I chose to listen to the radio. The interesting thing about this is the telecast is delayed for a few seconds, whereas the radio is more of a live feed. So when I turn to the Alabama network, the last play is in progress while the telecast shows both teams still in the huddle. The point is this: I heard Alabama win before I saw them win. Therefore I watched the last play with supreme confidence.

And joy!

Since Lori missed most of the fourth quarter, we have since watched the playback. Whereas we had been extremely agitated with Auburn’s success the first time, we were amused the second time. No matter how bad it looked we were unmovable in our assurance: knowing the end from the beginning made all the difference.

In the far more serious game of life, many of us are in dire need of a fourth quarter comeback. From an eternal perspective this battle of faith has already been decided. God give us ears to hear the verdict of heaven, and the astounding joy of the cloud of witnesses as they shout over the air waves: “Saints win, Saints win! Not only can we hear this from above: We can read tomorrow’s headlines in “The New Jerusalem Times” proclaiming this more assuredly than “The Birmingham News” account of the win by Alabama.

Jesus, as a man full of the Holy Ghost, lived his life according to this principle:

“And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:36-39).

The greatest miracle is not the calming of the sea; it is the calm of the man that can sleep through a raging storm! Only a man with this astounding peace can speak peace and calm troubled waters. Where did Jesus get such authoritative faith, enabling him to impose his will upon the enemy?

He had gone to sleep listening to “77.7” classic rock! This “faith station” was streaming live from Zion and had the final score of the game way before it was played out on the field. I have it tuned in right now, listen up:

“Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them” (Psalms 89:9).

Jesus heard the calm of the sea before he ever saw it come to pass. Knowing that the outcome was never in doubt, He had perfect peace in the middle of the storm. I am told that in the original Greek that when Jesus rebuked the storm he was saying to the waves, “Shut up! See this muzzle: Put it on— I don’t want to hear another peep out of you!

Lord let us see the end of "our game" from the beginning: “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11).

A SENTENCE OF DEATH

About two years ago I made a decision to turn down a full time position in a church to pursue the ministry I believe the Lord has called me to. Today I have scriptural evidence to assure me that I made the right decision and am exactly where the Lord wants me. Behind me is an enemy intent on destroying me; on either side are un-climbable mountains; before is an impassable Red Sea: It is good to be in the perfect will of the Lord!

“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9; emphasis mine).

Ultimately the Lord is the judge in our trial of faith, and in his mercy he condemns our human strength to death. We have the “sentence of death in ourselves” to keep us from placing hope in our impotence. The battle is the Lord’s and “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). The war we wage is spiritual; were you to drop a million atomic bombs on the devil it would not faze him.

Do you honestly think your “357 Magnum” could ever make a difference?

The Apostle Paul and those with him understood their sentence of death. Sentence here means an answer: "On asking myself whether I should come out safe from mortal peril, I answered, ‘I must die.” Paul asked the Lord in his trial, “What am I to do to get out of this?” The reply was, “You must die to any hope of carnal genius and natural ability.” This is the basis of true faith: an unconditional dependence upon the unseen hand of the Lord — an honest confession that if the Lord doesn't come and take things into his own hands, then we've had it!

Everyone has a breaking point.

Paul said he was pressed — weighted down— above measure. The test that came to the Apostle was “beyond” anything he had ever experienced: It was the “bale of hay that broke the back of the trailer.” He referred to it as trouble, which is the same as affliction in Acts 7:10, when it says that God delivered Joseph “out of all his afflictions.” Just as Josephs’ soul “entered into the iron” during the seemingly endless delay of his promise, Paul likewise “entered in.”

The end result is he “despaired even of life.” Despair means “to be utterly at loss, be utterly destitute of measures or resources, to renounce all hope. The root of this word means “to be without resources, to be in straits, to be left wanting, to be embarrassed, to be in doubt, not to know which way to turn. It is “to be at a loss with one's self, be in doubt and not to know how to decide or what to do: to be perplexed.” These are all qualifications of a miracle: If you can not relate to this, then you are not qualified.

Before there can be a resurrection there must be a death. “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10).

There is always more in resurrection than there is in birth —B.H. Clendennen.

IT IS TIME TO GIVE THANKS!

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).

It is human nature to take things for granted and truly not to realize the greatness of the power of God already demonstrated. It was power beyond human comprehension that created the world out of nothing and everything in it that lives and breathes. The same power that created the world is the identical command that keeps the whole universe together: The Word of God that is proceeding out of the mouth of the Lord!

Have we stopped today to consider the efficiency and precision with which the Lord commands the world? The rotation of the earth around the sun is so exact that you could set a clock thousands of years in advance and have perfect timing because there is a consistency that God has set in motion. Were he to let go for just one second the whole universe would be thrown out of kilter!

Do we understand that many of Jesus’ greatest miracles were acts of restoration? In these awesome “reinstallation” miracles, the power of God was demonstrated to bring back things to the original state that God had set in order. In the beginning God made the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the legs to walk, and the tongue to talk. When Jesus encountered people with whom these gifts were no longer functioning, he healed them, bringing all back to the original intent.

In other words, when Jesus raised the lame man from his bed, it was the power of God that brought strength to this man’s legs, enabling him to walk. Likewise, when God created Adam, it was a creative miracle that formed his legs and enabled him to walk in the first place! Ultimately, it is the grace of God that enables all of us to see, hear, walk, and talk. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God; this is nothing short of the "amazingness" of the Lord.

This is not to mention the million particulars that must function properly for us to live. The heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, blood cells, intestines, muscles, and brain are all works of God infinitely beyond human strength. Let just one of these become diseased and the body starts to suffer.

On top of this, consider the bountiful provision of oxygen and sunshine and water and food that he gives on a daily schedule. Were it not for his hand, we would quickly perish into oblivion. He provides trees and precious metals and a million other things so we can have houses with furniture and other comforts of life.

The Apostle Paul put it this way: “For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it” (1 Corinthians 4:7)? The answer is nothing; we received everything we’ve got.

There is no such thing as a self made man: Never has been, never will be. To truly be self sufficient, a man would first have to have someone kill him and cremate his body. Then he would need to have the dust that he is dumped into out of space. From there it would be up to him to create his life again and a universe and world that would be fully functional—all of this must be original, he can not copy what God has already done!

Ain’t gonna happen.

It is time to give thanks to the Almighty: Happy Thanksgiving!

ONE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH

“Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed. Therefore sprang there even of one so many as the stars in the sky in multitude, and as the white sand by the seashore innumerable” (Hebrews 11; 11-12).

“There that should do it,” you say to yourself as you carefully set your last tomato plant.
Suddenly, a red Dodge Ram pulls into your yard. As you walk toward the truck to see who it is, the driver rolls down the window and calls your name.
“O My God!” you proclaim—you’d recognize that voice anywhere. “It’s Jesus.”
“How about coming with me,” he asks. “I have something I want to show you.”
“Me……You want….. Me?”
Laughing, Jesus opens the door and says, “Yes, get in.”
Taking Faith 23 north for about eight miles, the Lord takes a right on New Beginnings Avenue. Here he pulls into a 100,000 acre field that sits at the foot of Mount Petition.
“All that you see is mine,” he declares. “I want you to plant this in corn and feed the nations.”
Overwhelmed with faith and joy, you worship him.
“Should I buy the seed in one ton allotments?”
“No need for that,” he says, and hands you one seed.

“And he said, So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed into the ground” (Mark 4;26).

God has placed in the nature of a seed the power to reproduce itself in unlimited numbers. From one seed can come trillions of other seed that look like the original, grows like the original, and tastes like the original. The only difference between the original and the trillions is a major one: The original is the root; the trillions are the fruit.

Let’s do the math on one seed of corn. Every country boy knows that one stalk of corn will produce two ears of corn. An average ear will have 820 kernels which times two is 1,640. Plant all these and you will have 2, 689,600. Repeat this a third and fourth time and you will reap an astonishing 7,223,948,160,000 kernels of corn! All from one.

“Now the Lord had said unto Abram… I will make of thee a great nation…unto thy seed will I give this land… that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven” (Genesis12;1,2,7; 22;17).

God builds nations and kingdoms from one seed. He promised a seed to Abraham and from that one seed came forth the nation Israel. Abraham had Isaac who had Jacob, who in turn fathered twelve sons. When Israel went into Egypt they numbered seventy: “And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls” (Exodus 1:5). By the time you get to Hebrews 11; 12, the seed had multiplied to innumerable proportions; just like he promised. All, from David to Paul, from the least to the greatest, came from one.

God is not looking for great strength; He can do all that is written with little strength!

What has he placed in your hand?

FAITH COMES BY HEARING

O Lord [pleads Jeremiah in the name of the people], I know that [the determination of] the way of a man is not in himself; it is not in man [even in a strong man or in a man at his best] to direct his [own] steps. [Psalms 37:23; Proverbs 20:24.] — Jeremiah 10:23 Amplified

I have good news for all that are in the middle of the storm of their lives: God in his wisdom and mercy has directed your steps. As the Omnipotent, Omnipresent sovereign Lord, He has gone before you, has never left you, and is coming to you! Make no mistake about it: Jesus always comes to the rescue of those who call upon his name. There is no power in hell that can stop him from walking on the sea of impossibility to get to you.

The issue is this: Will you recognize him when he comes?

“And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida (It was his direction)…And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened” (Mark 6:45-52).

There is a tremendously important principle being taught here: Faith doesn’t come by seeing; faith comes by hearing. We have thought that seeing a miracle would produces faith. But the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea and it did not produce faith in them.

What’s more, they were “sitting” on a miracle and their heart was hardened instead of believing. Jesus had just multiplied the five loaves and had commanded the disciples to put what was left into twelve baskets. These baskets were in the boat as they struggled to recognize the Lord! Faith comes by hearing the voice of Jesus, not by a bunch of soggy bread!

To teach otherwise is to place you and all who hear you at risk of deception. One of the foundational errors along this line is this: “Young people have to experience something first; then you can teach them doctrine.” This miscalculation is fundamental: It places faith into the realm of what you can see with your five senses—your “natural” eye. The devil can counterfeit a miracle and fool everybody that is basing faith on a sign and wonder — especially young people.

We must learn to lean on his voice: “And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.” They knew him not by seeing, but by hearing! If we can discern his voice in the storm everything will be all right. If we can receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of his word we can reach out and touch the hem of his garment—God grant it unto your servants!

The storm of all storms is fixing to hit: It is time to seek the Lord through the Holy Writ. Isn’t that the last message he left us?

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:13).

SOMEBODY HAS BEEN MESSING WITH THE LAND MARK!

We live in a day where many have lowered the standards of the Word of God in order to not offend the proud seeker. Never mind that the movie “little Johnny” wants to watch teaches him how to murder and rape, and to blaspheme the Holy Ghost, it is not up to us to say he has no business as a professing Christian to watch it.

After all, Jesus wouldn’t want anyone to feel guilty.

Therefore anyone holding to the standards of the word concerning obedience, repentance, and separation from the world are labeled “legalists.” However, at heart those protesting the loudest are also legalists, and out of the abundance of heart they will speak if you “crash their hard drive.” Just run a red light and “total” their brand new Lexus: See if they don't hold you responsible to the law. The weight of what it’s going to cost them far outweighs any apprehension they may or may not have about making you feel guilty.

Consider the bewilderment that would occur if we applied this “user friendly” wisdom to a football game. Since our best running back runs a 12.4 forty and our biggest lineman is 155 pounds, we need to change the following rules:

1. Their will no longer be an out of bounds.
2. You have an infinite number of attempts to get a first down.
3. Since we never cross the goal line, a touch down will consist of crossing the 50 yard line which is the new goal line.
4. Their will be no personal fouls.
5. Their will be no referees.


“Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people” (Isaiah 62:10). Standard means “the level of quality or excellence attained by somebody or something.” This ultimately refers to Jesus and the highway of holiness that he attained for all who would follow him. Since this is obviously over the head of human strength, someone has taken it upon themselves to change the ancient land mark.

“Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28). A landmark is “a prominent object, e.g. a tree or stone that is recognized as marking the boundary of a piece of land.” Ancient means “ancient time, long time (of past) and (of future); It is that which is “continuous existence, perpetual everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity.”

From eternity as a lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Jesus Christ anchored the “tree” of the cross into the bed rock of truth. This cross of Christ is the standard and boundary of the church. It is rigid in its demands, yet boundless in its mercy. It knows no compromise, but its miracle working power comes short of no promise: All things are possible to him that believes! In short, it brings the proud flesh of the first Adam into the death of Christ in order to raise all of mankind in the last Adam.

How it that what has always been true—the confession and repentance of sins through the Blood of the cross— is no longer in vogue? When did the “rules committee” of heaven convene to change that which has always been considered in and out of bounds? Here are four of the rule changes:

1. Our sin does not affect His opinion of us nor cause Him to withhold His blessing!
2. We don’t have to confess sin in order to be saved, to retain, or to maintain our salvation.
3. In fact, sin isn’t even an issue with God.
4. Sin does not affect your spirit.

I guess you can rape and murder little children and pray down the blessings of the Lord with innocent blood on your hands.

Somebody has been messing with the land mark.

Good thing for them it is no longer sin.

HEADSHIP OF ADAM

“Wherefore, as by one man {Adam} sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, {in whom — margin} for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12, brackets mine).

Bill McCoy sent me the following word:

“Adam the federal head of the human race was also the seminal head. The word seminal (seed) implies that everyone existed in seed form within Adam, and that he was the head of the human race. We were all in the body of Adam when he sinned, just as Levi was in the body of Abraham when he met Melchizedek: “…through Abraham even Levi who is receiving tithes, hath paid tithes, for he was yet in the loins of the father when Melchisedek met him” (Hebrews 7:9-10).

In that sense, every member of the human race played a part in the fall of man. When Adam sinned we were actually sinning with him.

Adam was also the federal head of the race. In this sense, Adams vote for sin is similar to the vote of a representative. By “Senator” Adams vote, he obligated his constituents for certain indebtness.

While Adam’s disobedience resulted in the human race being plunged into sin, the obedience of Christ (the last Adam) gives Christians the power to overcome sin in their lives (see Romans 5:12 – 21; Genesis 2:24). “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45).

This headship of Adam tells us that we were born of sin / into sin – therefore we must repent of our sins, ask and seek forgiveness from God; live at the Cross, and for me, most of all pray for God’s mercy and grace. Without God’s mercy and the forgiveness through the Cross on my soul, I would still be dead to sin and living in God only knows what kind of life at this point. Let those that have ears hear; we must repent and be forgiven on a daily bases.

The second Adam saved us; the first Adam killed us.”

This is a good word.

It is amazing that we were also in the Last Adam from before the foundation of the world. Therefore when he was on the cross we were in him and thus we WERE crucified with him, buried with him, and raised with him!! We were blessed in him with all spiritual blessings because he to was the "seminal" head. His seed was the Word of God!!!! We were healed in every which way you can be healed by virtue of this union just as we were cursed in every which way by our union with the first Adam.

WAITING ON THE LORD

A prominent teacher has made the following statement, “Your spirit is identical to Jesus Christ.”

This is to say that your spirit man is “exactly the same as or equal to God, or alike in every respect.” This is because Jesus is and was and will be Almighty God. Another teacher has said, “Whenever I hear God say that I am, I just smile and say ‘I am too!”

I don’t think so!

We are not in any way identical to Christ; we are identified with Christ. Jesus is the creator; we are the created. Of a truth His Spirit lives within us and we are one spirit with him by our union with him. But we do not become him no more than the wife becomes the husband because of her joining together with him. He is everything while we are still poor in spirit and nothing: “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Galatians 6:3).

Isaiah 40:31 states, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”. One of the meanings for wait is “to collect, to gather, and bind together — perhaps by twisting.” At the cross of Christ God gathered the whole human race and “bound” us together with three nails. By virtue of our union with him He became a sacrifice for sin and by our union with him we became the righteousness of God.

A simple way to look at this is to compare a single thread to a massive logging chain. One is weak and one is unbreakable and indestructible.

Suppose your life depended on pulling a thousand ton bulldozer out of the mud. Were you to try to pull it out with the thread they would declare you legally insane.

If the thread had a “voice” and affirmed that it was identical to the chain they would proclaim it permanently insane!

However, if you were to twist the thread around the chain, then all of a sudden “Mr. Threadwell” could boldly state: “I can do all things through this chain which strengthens me!” Nothing would be impossible. He will be able to pull many souls to safety, making an eternal difference. He will have power to bind the enemy and plunder his house. He will be known in heaven and feared in hell as long as he keeps the right perspective.

The danger is in the fact that the chain is invisible to the natural eye and it will look as if Threadwell is doing all the work.

But he should no better.

After all, he was threadbare before the Lord found him.

GRASSHOPPERS BY TWO TOUCHDOWNS!

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12).

The writer of Hebrews is referring to the Israelites who failed to enter the Promised Land under Moses. This generation saw the greatness of God’s miracles in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the miraculous provision of food and drink in the wilderness, and despite this, saw nothing but themselves in there hour of crises. Listen to what God calls their evil report:

“But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:31-33).

To get to the heart of unbelief we need to see the root: What is it deep within man that is the foundation of all atheism?

I thought we were talking about unbelief: What do you mean atheism?

The generation that died in the wilderness was practical atheists. Their actions spoke loud and clear that God was no where to be found when they needed him most: “And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt” (14:3-4). Follow this “fruit of their lips” to its source and you will discover the heart of all unbelief:

Their faith was in their ability.

They accused the Lord of bringing them “to fall by the sword.” The truth is, it never entered into the mind of the Lord for Israel to conquer Canaan with their sword no more than he depended on such to bring them out of Egypt? It was the Ten Plagues that persuaded Pharaoh to let God‘s people go: Not the top ten swordsman of Israel!

Unbelief is misplaced confidence. It is being faithless: a belief that comes from hearing the voice of man rather than true faith which comes from hearing the voice of God. This voice of unbelief is universal and is “omnipresent” in every storm and every point of crises. It is the voice that cries deep within man and says with great conviction: “I do not have what it takes. Who am I to stand up to that which has killed millions just like me; stole from men greater than me; destroyed stronger than me?

God called it an “evil” heart that thinks like this. The word evil means, “Full of labors, annoyances, hardships, pressed, and bringing toils. It is “of a bad nature and is blind." It speaks of the “intense desire” in man to be independent—a “self made” man. This man’s faith is in self effort that drives him: “Try harder, dig in, give it all you’ve got! Make sure you confess the seven steps to success just right!"

After all: If you can think it you can achieve it!

This faith is “of a bad nature.” It is based on the natural assumption that all depends on “might and power.” The truth is, there was no lack of faith in their believing they couldn’t do it; unbelief was believing it was up to them: “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Identifying and even confessing the giants was not the problem; the issue was in not discerning the presence of the Lord and failing to confess what He had say about the situation.

Sooner or later all faith in the natural dies in the face of impossibility; only the “faith of Christ” is eternal. Whose faith raised Lazarus from the dead? Whose faith enabled Caleb to posses what they said was unattainable? “But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it” (Numbers 14:24).

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” Do not dare leave the Living God and face the giants in your own strength!

By the way, God could have defeated the giants with the grasshoppers.

It would not have been close: Grasshoppers by two touchdowns!

GOD HAS PREACHED YOUR FUNERAL

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:3-4).

The Greek word for bless is “Eulogeo” and one of its meanings is to eulogize. A eulogy is a “speech or piece of writing that praises somebody or something very highly, especially a tribute to somebody who has recently died.” Paul, who wrote Ephesians and much of the New Testament, eventually finished the race set before him. Let’s listen in to his eulogy:

“We are here to honor our Brother Paul today, who, had he not answered the call of God on his life, many of you would not be here today. This man did many wonderful works: In the Name of Jesus he raised the dead, healed the sick, cast out devils and fed the poor. Through the ever growing love of God in his life, he won countless souls to the kingdom of God. He suffered much for the cause of Christ, yet none of these things ever moved him from his steadfastness of purpose. By the grace of God, he has left us many letters written straight from the Father’s heart to be a lamp to guide us. As you well know, many Churches are here today that stands as a testament to this man, and testify of him: He obeyed God.”

The amazing thing I want you to see is this eulogy was spoken from eternity, before the apostle had ever done one thing: “…who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world…”

God, who declares the end from the beginning, has blessed us in Christ before time ever began. Clearly the scriptures teach that we died with Christ at the cross and spiritually speaking this happened from eternity: “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8”). Therefore, our Heavenly Father "eulogized" all believers “in Christ” before the world was ever formed. This is why Paul could say in Galatians 1:15 that he had been separated from his mother's womb and called by grace even though he had previously been the greatest persecutor of Christ. God had blessed him by "turning him away from his iniquities" and called him with a "holy calling" according to the grace and purpose of Christ "before the foundation of the world."

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

Likewise, God preached your funeral before time began and spoke of your end: “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11). I don’t have time here to repeat all of what was said about you, but I will give you the closing words:

“Not one good thing of all that I promised this beloved child of mine failed: All came to pass. As I was with Abraham, Moses, Paul, and even my Son Jesus, so I was with….”

You!

HAVE YOU BEEN TO YOUR OWN FUNERAL?

"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein" (Jeremiah 6:16).

We do not discover the truth as in searching out a new trail; we discover the truth when we find an old path. It is not new scars in Heaven that assure us of our spiritual and physical healing; it is old scars, that of a Lamb as it had been slain. It is an old path that leads to the cross which in essence became the operating room where our sins were surgically removed, not with a razor sharp scalpel, but with the scourging of a Roman whip and the piercing of three nails. These scars assure us that a New Covenant has been cut which provides everything we need in abundance: The operation was a success.

The life of Abraham provides an excellent commentary on this New Covenant:

“And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son” (Genesis 17:24-26).

God had just reiterated an old, but yet new promise: “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him” (Genesis 17:19). Abraham’s side of the covenant required the obedience of circumcision which was really a confession of utter dependence upon God. This cutting away of strength was a declaration of true faith: “Lord, here is my impotence. I bring to you that which is dead and can only be raised to life by resurrection power.”

Circumcision is God’s blueprint for a miracle: “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you” (Genesis 17:11). Notice that these instructions came to Abraham at ninety-nine and not when he was eighty-five. This is because at a younger age death had not “set in” to that which was to be circumcised; at ninety-nine Abraham was as good as dead as to his reproduction abilities. The covenant of circumcision was to be an everlasting illustrated sermon entitled, “Impotence Never Meets The Requirements Of Omnipotence!” Circumcision is a sign of death to all hope in the natural and a faith in the supernatural: “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).

We enter into worship when we can no longer be tempted to depend on our own abilities to get the job done, and yet believe and move toward a miracle. Abraham at this time could not be tempted to have any more “relations” with Hagar: “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old…” (Romans 4:19). When he could no longer be “moved” to take things into his own hands, God moved and took things into His hands! This is the essence of walking in the New Covenant.

Circumcision is the cutting away of foreskin that which is there by nature: here it represents the pride of natural strength. It is there to protect man’s greatest pride: His ability to “duplicate!” The only trouble is man can never replicate that which is spiritual. He may come close, as Abraham did with Ishmael who looked a lot like Isaac—both were to become a great nation— but God ultimately rejected that which was of natural origin. It is only when we are cut off from natural hope in ordinary resources will God move. Abraham marked this step clearly, “Who against hope believed in hope…” (Romans 4:18).

You must see that before Abraham ever took Sarah to the delivery room, he first had to attend his own funeral!

What happens to a branch that is cut off from the tree? It dies. What happens when you cut off a foreskin? It dies and it will soon start to stink!

When Abraham circumcised his foreskin (and that of his household including Ishmael) it died the death that always comes with separation. Since you always bury the dead I am sure there was a graveside service as Abraham buried his “pride” and brought his own eulogy:

“I remember Abraham well. He was full of promise and full of assurance that he could get the job done no matter the mountains that stood in his way. Here was a man of action! Here was a man of faith! Here is a man that did everything within his power to get God to move in his time and even helped God along the way.

And he thought it had worked.

But here I bury Ishmael and all the hope that had come with him. May God have mercy.”

All that are in Christ are clearly evidenced in the scriptures as being crucified with Christ. Have you been to your own funeral?

DEATH BY LETHAL INJECTION

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. —Psalms 5:4-6

Consider the following attributes of God.

1. He hates evil and loves righteousness.
2. He can not lie.
3. He is a God of justice.
4. He is love.

How can you reconcile the truth that God hates all workers of iniquity to the assurance that God so loved the world?

At the cross of Christ: “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24. It is as there that Justice met Grace as the wrath of God was poured out upon Jesus because of our sins. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

It is essential that we understand that the God of Justice never compromised the law found in Ezekiel 18:4: “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Exodus 34:7 declares that God “will by no means clear the guilty.” Jesus the author of the New Testament never compromised concerning this principle: “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).

Therefore any one who comes to Jesus must understand that as the Living Word of God, Jesus demands your death! There is no plea bargaining; there is no legal loop hole to crawl out of. You have sinned against the Almighty and as such you are an enemy of the state and as such you are herby sentenced to the death of the cross!

The justice of God demands that it be so.

His mercy commands it!

God’s unconditional acceptance of you just as you were was joined with his unconditional command of your “execution” at the cross of Christ. It was there that your sin died of lethal injection of the precious Blood of the spotless Lamb! “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6)

God in His mercy never reconciled your old man to himself; you were reconciled to God as a new man in Christ.

DEAD TO RIGHTS

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. —Romans 5:10

Thank God that we were reconciled to God by the Blood of the Lamb: That is beyond dispute. But there is something to be desired in modern thinking if we pass over the fact that we were enemies—somebody who hates or seeks to harm somebody or something. It is a total lack of understanding of the fear of God that teaches contemporary evangelist’s to bring God’s enemies to him and "reconcile" them without any sign of brokenness, or trembling, or sorrow for sins on the part of the new “card carrying” member. These wholesale conversions amount to little more than sharing a recipe that may or may not ever be prepared by the recipient.

A present-day case in point would be the United States government running down Osama Bin Laden and offering him a full pardon of his crimes and giving him full access to our country without any change of condition on his part. “Osama, since you have been reconciled to God by grace, there is nothing required of you: no remorse, no restitution, and no repentance!

An example that I have actually witnessed goes something like the following:

“Hey Sis, do you know Jesus?”
“No.”
“Do you want to know him?”
“I guess.”
All you have to do is repeat the ‘sinners’ prayer: "Jesus, you said in your word that if any man confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus and believes in his heart that God raised him from the dead, then he would be saved. Jesus, I believe. Forgive me of my sins. In Jesus name amen!”
Praise the Lord Sis: You’re saved!!”

The sinner is the one leading the prayer.

Proverbs 1:7 teaches us that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” The fear of the Lord is the manifest presence of the Almighty—initially it is the stark terror of being exposed before him undone and unclean because of sin. It is the sudden dread brought on by an awareness of being in the hand of your sworn enemy whose power it is to destroy both soul and body. Knowledge here comes from the word that means to know intimately as Adam “knew” his wife. If there is no fear of the Lord in a salvation experience, can there be a true knowing of the Lord?

Saul is a picture of a true conversion of an enemy of God coming face to face with the Lord. As an active enemy of the Lord he was “yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples” when suddenly he came into the presence of the Lord. Jesus asked him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me—why are you my enemy? What happens next is a demonstration of the fear of the Lord that marked a brand new beginning for Paul, thus ending his old life: “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

Jesus had Paul “dead to rights” and poured out his mercy instead of wrath! But look at Paul’s attitude: He trembled, “shaking continuously and uncontrollably from fear.” He was astonished at the mercy of God, that just as David of old spared King Saul when he could have killed him, Jesus the Son of David was sparing his life.

Paul lives the rest of his life showing the proper response of enemies pardoned by such mercy.

He was dead to rights!